Lebanon, the Split

Original title : Liban, la fracture

Written by Katia JarjouraDirected by Katia Jarjoura

Image: Wissam CharafEditor: Ranwa Stephan

Documentary - 52 minutes

Coproducer : Arte France

Shot as a field survey, this film examines the issues and the upheavals in today’s Lebanon, caught once again in a swirl of woes: Sunni-Shiite strife, strain from the influx of Syrian refugees, economic downturn, and a general feeling of psychosis. These problems are treated in an assessment of this tiny, complex and vulnerable nation. The film raises the question about Lebanon’s perspectives in the future.

It is shot in three locations: Beirut, the splintered capital where the country’s political future is hashed out, the border swarmed by Syrian refugees and electrified by Sunni-Shiite tensions, and Tripoli where radical Islam is on the rise.

Political leaders, religious figures, and men in the field, featured in familiar settings or in more formal interviews, offer their analyses of the situation.

Today, the population suffers from a veritable psychosis. After each terrorist attack, the streets are deserted. Restaurants are practically empty. Businesses operate when they can. There is rumor that militants from the Islamic jihadist group ISIL have set up in Palestinian refugee camps and that they are preparing suicide bombers. Foreign embassies are swamped with visa applications. All experts agree that the situation will worsen in the coming months unless the strife in Syria is stopped and a solution is rapidly implemented.